Privacy Policy
Introduction
Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents takes your privacy seriously. This privacy policy describes how and why we obtain, store and process data which can identify you. We may update this policy from time to time and shall indicate on the website when changes have been made.
If you have any queries relating to how we process your personal information then please contact us on 0131 667 1900 and ask to speak to the person who is responsible for Data Protection.
Cookies Our websites use cookies so that we can personalise your use of our site, assist your use of the site and improve the site generally. Your IP address might be used for the purposes of determining the total count of visitors who viewed specific properties within our site; however, we do not automatically capture any information which is intended to determine your identity. Any personal information we do collect from this website is voluntarily provided by you and clearly set out on the page on which we collect it.
Personal Information
Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents only stores personal information which either:
(i) you have directly provided to us;
(ii) is required by us in order to perform some role or service that you have requested.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) our lawful basis for processing your data is Contract.
1. If you are a client of Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents then you will be provided with a personal contract which sets out the terms & conditions of our service to you.
2. If you are an employee of Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents you will be provided with a personal contract which sets out your terms of employment with us.
3. If you are not yet a client or employee of Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents, but you have asked us to do something as a first step, then a contract is implied (for example, if you ask us to provide information about Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents, request a quote for our services, request a Home Report for a property which we are marketing, ask to join our mailing list or consider your CV for employment).
Except were required by law, we will not pass on your personal information to any third parties unless this is required to enable us to perform services requested by you, or you have given consent.
We will only retain your personal information as a client for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
In relation to matters in which we act for clients, we follow the guidelines issued by the Law Society of Scotland concerning the retention of client files. This means that we will retain those files (and your personal information within them) for a minimum period of 10 years from the date on which the matter on which you have instructed us has completed. In some areas of practice, such as real estate or wills, trusts and executries, the nature of the matters on which we are instructed, may require us to hold client files (and your personal information) for longer periods because the time periods for which legal claims can arise are much longer than 10 years. The rules that apply to determine how long it is appropriate to hold records for particular matters can be complex and varied. If you wish to know how long we may hold your particular personal information as a record of a particular matter then please contact us on 0131 667 1900 and ask to speak to the person who is responsible for Data Protection.
You can request a copy of all personal information which we store about you and you have the right to request its correction or erasure (see Your Right to Object below). While we aim to respond to all requests within 2 weeks, no request should take longer than 1 month to process.
Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents do not participate in automated profiling of personal data. We never make decisions solely by automated means, nor do we perform automated processing of personal data, other than to meet our service obligations to you. We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to keep all personal information secure and we rigorously apply a security by design approach. We regularly review our procedures, in conjunction with external security experts, to assess our security arrangements and mitigate potential risks.
All email communications from Deans Solicitors and Estate Agents support TLS and will be automatically encrypted where supported by your email provider. However, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure. As a result, whilst we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information which you send to us, and you do so at your own risk.
Your Right to Object
You have the right to object to our processing of your information. Of course, if you do so, we may no longer be able to provide our service to you.
Should you request that we erase all personal information relating to you from our records then we will endeavour to do so; however, there may be some circumstances under which we are unable to comply with your request.
If we are unable to comply with your request to erasure for any reason we will inform you of this and restrict all future processing of your data.
With your permission, we may send you information about relevant products and services from us and carefully selected third parties.
You can unsubscribe from our email communications by using the embedded Unsubscribe link, or by contacting us directly. To unsubscribe from our newsletter please speak to your adviser or contact us directly on 0131 667 1900.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
On 25 May 2018 GDPR replaced the Data Protection Act 1998 as the primary piece of data protection legislation in the UK.
The GDPR defines a number of important data protection principles and individual rights which apply to all processing of personal information.
The Information Commissioner is responsible for regulating Data Protection and, if you feel that we have breached your rights under GDPR, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Comprehensive guidelines relating to your rights under GDPR are provided on the ICO website at www.ico.org.uk